


As Above, So Below

by Hiddenshadowwolf



Category: Mias and Elle (Wecomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:34:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiddenshadowwolf/pseuds/Hiddenshadowwolf
Summary: Miasandelle.com is an amazing work by miss Jenny Clements and I am so in awe of her mastery of storytelling. She is so, so incredible. I took one small detail from her story, "Mias and Elle," and wanted to expand on that with an OC.The idea is twofold: Doppelgangers and Kindness. What if the doppelganger created by Mias wasn't an exact copy? How do you copy memories, anyways? What if the "new you" was more like an "old you" before your life experiences went and hecked up a perfectly good human. Look, you've got anxiety! The second idea being that I really wanted to explore the difference between people that grow hard and sharp and prickly because of trauma and the people that dedicate their lives to being soft and kind and nurturing because of trauma. The people that are broken on the outside but have their golden parts peeking through verses the people that shine gold but on the inside are totally broken.The product was this fic. I hope it does even the slightest bit of justice to miss Jenny's story and if you haven't read it, please do so! It's amazing! She has a Deviantart page that is FULL OF GOOD THINGS!!! pls to be going there to see all the good things!
Relationships: Mias/OC
Kudos: 5





	1. The Split

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mias and Elle](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/566053) by Jenny Clements. 



Europe was beautiful. 2000 miles and one ocean away from her birthplace but the trip was well worth the travel time. So many sights to see, foods to taste, and pictures to take. Venice was magical, and to arrive right before Carnival had been a real treat. One small handful of ashes sank into the river outside the shop where she purchased a gorgeous, red and gold mask. Rome and the Vatican tour had been utterly delightful, if not a bit humbling. Her Latin still wasn’t quite where she wanted it to be, but being able to listen to Mass in a real cathedral and understand at least some of it had been deeply rewarding. One thumb print with a tiny smear of ash marked the place outside the wall where she had the best slice of pizza she’d ever tasted. Then one train ride later she was off to the next scenic country on her itinerary.

Day one of her whirlwind tour of all the best tourist traps in France brought her to the Louvre, Le Arch de Triomphe, Champs, Versailles, and Notre Dame. Though not necessarily in that order, Versailles closed early and the Arch was just an outdoor structure. Champs was going to be more of a drive-by viewing and she still had to get tickets for the Louvre but it was going to be open until 9:45 that night. Every minute of her tour of Europe had been planned months ago, from Hell to breakfast, one week after the will had been read. And Notre-Dame’s 8 AM opening hour was first on today’s agenda. Why did so many things have to wait until 9 to open?

7:30 AM found her walking the grounds of the cathedral, the “early” hour (seriously, did nobody wake up before 9 around here? The place was deserted) giving her plenty of time and space to meander unmolested through the grassy lawn and around the well-kept grounds. She usually didn’t take the full urn with her, but she’d had to check out of her AirBnB room early. There wasn’t a lot to do about it other than carry it. She found a plaque on one wall with a very nice saying about remembering the people buried here and it was so sweet she cracked the lid to sprinkle a small dusting of ash at the foot of the wall. 

Or at least she would have. If the ashes hadn’t jumped out of the urn and quite literally vanished into the wall. She gasped and jumped back, quickly putting the lid back on the urn and taking a few steps back. Ok. Maybe that was a sign. She really needed to be more careful about the urn and sprinkling the ashes. The woman put the urn into her backpack and shouldered it, hurrying off so she wouldn’t miss the opening minutes of Notre-Dame. Tomorrow she would portion out some small baggies or Tupperware or something so she’d have enough ash to spread at her other stops. That was plenty of ash for today. 

The doors opened to the public and she went straight to the top floors that were open for visitors. There was no sense in following the crowds that would linger and marvel at the giant rose window for 25 minutes before slowly and gleefully wandering their way up to higher and higher floors. No, if she made it to the top and worked her way down she could slip through the crowds at her own pace. 

Not that there were many people waiting at the door when it had opened but every minute counted and it was better to be prepared. No one had ever died from being overly prepared. And the silence was a welcome guest in a place that hummed with so much history. Practiced footfalls in soft-bottomed sneakers did not break the morning reverie. So silent was her passage that it was easy to pretend she was a ghost in these halls. And after she’d silently climbed as high as her map would allow, she sat down to enjoy the beauty of her surroundings. 

Tink

Tink

Tingle-tink

Tink

The blanket of silence was interrupted by the perplexing sound of a small bell. It sounded like it was bouncing across stone, but who would be bouncing a bell in a place like this 15 minutes after the cathedral had opened? Didn’t the bells belong in the bell tower? 

The sound was getting louder too and grey-blue eyes fixed on the door to the hallway minutes before a golden bell on a blue ribbon bounced into the room and tumbled noisily to her feet. Movement at the doorway had her eyes flicking up to see a man, an actor in black period clothing, follow the bell into the room. He looked Shakespearean, honestly, which would have seemed a little less strange in England but this was France. What would an Elizabethan actor be doing in a French cathedral? 

And why was he smiling like a cat that had just spied an unsuspecting mouse?

“Forgive me. It seems I have disturbed your contemplations.”

She looked down at the bell and immediately it clicked. Of course. This was his “opener.” Clever. A small, unassuming bell that would make noise so that when he made his entrance he wouldn’t spook the guests. Very clever, very original. She looked back up at him and picked up the bell, offering it to him on an outstretched palm. 

“Perhaps it is I who have disturbed yours. I’m sorry if I barged in on your rehearsal stage. I just figured most guests probably would start on the first floor before working their way up so I could start at the top of the cathedral and work my way down.” She smiled at him, “I can move to another room if you need this one for setting up or rehearsing.” 

The smile on his face grew more smug as he approached, confirming for the young woman that somehow this was all part of a well-rehearsed bit. “Rehearsing and setting up? Does my strange appearance lead you to believe that I will be performing?” 

She raised her hand to him to offer the bell, which he plucked from her fingers and slid into an interior breast pocket. “Yeah. I’m not quite sure what a Shakespearean actor could be doing in Paris, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with putting on a performance or reading prose to guests as they walk through. This place is pretty dead though, I’m surprised the management staff doesn’t have you scheduled for later in the day when more people are here.” 

His face flattened somewhat into a look of annoyance. “The early hour is, I will admit, somewhat vexing. Which…” his annoyance shifted back into that smug smile he’d been wearing since arriving, “leads us to question what someone like yourself would be doing here so early in the morning?” 

She grinned and looked up at the vaulted ceiling. “Oh I have a very busy day planned. I’ve been saving for years for a trip like this. I wasn’t sure it was going to really happen. But then my mother passed away and she wanted her ashes spread all over Europe. She loved places like this. So I buckled down and worked harder to save up for the trip I was already planning on taking and I’ve finally saved up just enough money for two weeks in Europe. I’ve already toured the major must-see sites in Italy and now I’m spending a couple days here in France. Then I’m headed to Spain and then England.” 

She sighed a little and worked at committing the scene to memory. She was going to have to get going or else there wasn’t going to be time to see the rest of the cathedral. “Working two full-time jobs, working 16 hour days to save up enough money for this trip hasn’t been fun but… I think it’s been worth it already. I think my favorite spot so far has been Cinque Terre, no offense to France.” 

She shot him an apologetic smile and he chuckled as he sat down beside her. “I am sorry for your loss, and I take no offense. This is not my home. Nor am I an actor. In fact, I too am a traveler!” 

Her grin turned sly and she gave his outfit a pointed once-over with her eyes. “I gathered as much.” 

His eyes lit up and he leaned back on the stonework behind him. “Oho, you think yourself observant, do you?” 

Her smile turned guarded. Aaaaand here we go. Another arrogant ass of a man challenging her to a proverbial fencing match. Why were all men the same? “There is always room for improvement, but I am observant enough to keep track of time without the help of a watch.” She stood and readjusted her backpack. “And I think it’s time I head down to some of the other rooms I passed on the way up here. I’m burning daylight. Thank you for your time and your company, though. Enjoy the rest of your shift.” 

“Mias.”

She looked at him over her shoulder and paused, letting the word settle in before deciding on what it meant. “Enjoy the rest of your shift, Mias, I’ll be sure to tell the management that you played your part well and give them my compliments.” 

She started walking away, only to be joined by the man she’d just very clearly dismissed. “Oh, but you have yet to play your part in all this! You see, there is a dashingly charming wizard, who, despite his excellence, has encountered a small snag in his brilliant plans. It seems he actually needs another person’s help.”

“Then it’s lucky for you that there will be plenty of other tour groups that will be visiting this cathedral today. I hear Fridays are particularly busy days to visit the sites in France. But I’m afraid I really must be on my way. As I said before, I have worked too hard to get here and have my adventure derailed.” 

“I know exactly what you mean.” He put his arm out to stop her on the stairs and when she instinctively slowed he stepped in front of her. “I too have worked for years to get to this point. Long hours, sleepless nights, but all of it worth it because I am here now. It might not have happened at all. But I have breached the divide between our worlds, I am here, and I have chosen you. It really is in your best interests to listen to me and comply.” 

She sucked a hiss through her teeth and gave him a look of pity. “Yeah, see, you were doing so well before but now you’ve crossed the line from convincing to creepy. I’d really work on your script a little more before you get in trouble with the wrong person.” 

He chuckled. “Wrong person? And who would that be? You?” 

Her expression faded into something carefully schooled between a glare and a sneer. “I am giving you one last warning before you find out the answer to that question. I will be continuing my tour of this cathedral. And I will be doing it alone. I am asking you once to please move out of my way before I will be forced to make my own way past you.”

Infuriatingly, this threat only seemed to amuse him and he leaned on the wall casually. “That is the rub though, isn’t it? You are truly alone here. Alone in this world and forging your own adventure. Such a noble cause. So much courage! You will need courage for the task ahead but really, all this stubbornness is tiresome. I have already made up my mind about taking you for myself. You can fly, call for help, fight… all futile resistances I’ve put plans in motion to stop. You really must see just how much simpler this will be for you if you will comply.” 

She only sighed and stepped around him in one swift motion, deciding that perhaps there was some logic to sticking with the crowds. There was safety in numbers. And she was starting to get the sick feeling that this man was not associated with the cathedral after all. No method actor would dare go so far as to threaten a patron without fear of retribution. 

She made it five stairs before he called out to her. “If you run, little sparrow, I will pursue. Don’t make me chase you.” 

She continued walking at her steady pace down the stairs, feet unerring even through his threat. “A person only runs when they are afraid, or in a hurry. And I am neither. Good day, sir.”

He watched her keep walking down the stairs. The hairs on the back of her neck let her know that he kept his eyes on her and for that reason her steps were even, her back straight, her chin high, and her grip on the railing deceptively light. She was ready for a shove, should it come, and her hand was ready to grip at a second’s notice. 

She heard him humph from up the stairs. “One would think you didn’t take me seriously.” 

Fully ignoring him now, she continued down the stairs. Ears pricked for the sound of footsteps, she was perfectly aware of exactly the moment he decided to follow. Exactly how fast his feet were traveling. Exactly the moment he’d caught up with her, which was exactly the moment she turned and entered another room. The smallest twitch of a smile played at her lips when she heard him grumble behind her. In the center of the room she stopped, pulled her backpack off, and squat low to the ground to pull her camera out. 

Or at least that was the impression she wanted to give. Fiddling with the zippers and peering into her pack she listened for his footsteps and waited. Unbelievably, he was so cocksure that he leaned over her shoulder to give her his most dangerous look. “Either you are a buffoon of a girl or-“

She didn’t have any interest in letting him finish. She grabbed his shirt just below his neck and pulled down at the exact moment she stood up, keeping her own head in place so her hips popped him effortlessly over her shoulders and landed him flat on his back on the stone floor. Mias gasped as the wind was knocked from his lungs and pain lanced through his spine. It took minutes for his vision to clear and by the time it did, the girl was long gone. Snarling a healing command as he rolled to one side and pressed his hand to his spine, Mias viciously ripped the bell from his vest and tossed it through the door frame. 

“Find her!” 

And the bell jingled it’s way merrily through the cathedral, hotly pursued by a fuming wizard and slowly gaining on the swift heels of its target. Swift heels that were taking the stairs four at a time and definitely running at a dead sprint as soon as they hit flat stonework. 

And then the lights went out. Screeching to a stop, the woman looked around and balked to see that even the light streaming through the windows had been dimmed. She looked around wildly, no longer sure of which direction to run or how fast she could safely sprint without accidentally falling down a flight of stairs and breaking her neck. But then there was the jingling of that bell again and she drew a sharp breath. 

He was coming. 

Damn it all. That had been a hard slap on the ground too. If he could still chase after getting his ass handed to him, maybe she had misjudged this situation entirely. 

Nowhere to run now. 

She sucked in one more deep, steadying breath and slipped her backpack off, stepping between it and her pursuer with her feet spread apart one shoulder’s width and one foot forward. If he wanted seconds, he could have them. Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice…

He came skidding around the corner, just barely visible in the dark, and continued to dash after the bell until it plunked to her feet. Chin high, stance ready, she looked at him over her nose and frowned as he slowed to a saunter.

“Back for another, are we?”

He huffed a throaty chuckle and shook his head. “I’ll not be making that mistake again. I told you I’d chosen you. I will forgive your outburst this once if you come with me quietly now. Don’t make this harder for yourself.” 

“Ah. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? I already told you no and you’ve already found out what happens when you invade my personal space. But sure, keep coming. I’d love to see if I can get a little more distance on my next throw.” 

His eyes flicked down to her backpack and she settled further into her ready stance, expression hardening. “Curious, a woman like yourself so well versed in combat. Your stance betrays your training. Do you fence?” 

He continued to saunter lazily, circling around her. She rotated in kind, keeping herself between her bag and the assailant. “No.” 

“No? I suppose you wouldn’t. Fencing requires poise. And money. Not to mention a partner. None of which you have. No, your training was more informal, wasn’t it? Fighting to save your own skin because no one else was there to save you? Fighting to protect your meager belongings? Is all that you own in that sack?”

She did not reply, choosing instead to keep a sharp eye on him and his motions as he circled. He was testing her, taking one step closer and one step farther to see how close he could get before he got a reaction out of her. And she knew it. Frustratingly, he seemed to know that she knew and he continued to tighten his circle slowly nonetheless. 

“You said so yourself. You worked two jobs to save up your money to come to this place. No mention of anyone else coming with you or helping you in this endeavor. Even on such a long journey. How many kingdoms did you say you had already traveled through and how many more you had planned to see? All alone? No family, no friends. Not even a servant. Whether by choice or by circumstance... you are completely alone.” 

He finally crossed the threshold and he watched her hands raise, ready to strike but still waiting for some trigger. He was just out of striking distance but the tight circle he was walking made it increasingly difficult to continue spinning in place. 

“So are you, Sherlock. And yet here we are, dancing around like a couple of idiots in the dark. Now, if you’re quite finished with gloating I have better things to do than prance around like a show pony and psychoanalyze innocent passers-by. Last warning. Turn your fluffy princess cape around and get out of my face.” 

“At least we agree on one point. This dance has become…” Mias lunged, and the woman swung. He twisted and let her fist glance off his double-padded shoulder, grabbing her wrist while pivoting on his toe to end up behind her. Her extended arm doubled back with every intention of elbowing him in the ribs but found only the flutter of cloth. His free arm, however, reached around her body and snatched up her remaining wrist, pinning her arms to her sides while he clutched her in a vice-like grip. “... tiresome.”

She struggled against his grip but was ultimately overpowered. Even her fierce attempts at stomping on his feet were deftly avoided and after a moment longer of struggle she finally stopped fighting. Though not for a lack of wanting, if her rapid breathing through her nose and clenched teeth were any indication. 

Mias sighed and adjusted his grip slightly. “There, now. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Aw, trying to reassure yourself, are you?”

Mias rolled his eyes and hoisted with his hips and back, lifting her into the air and hauling her over to the wall. “Here we are, this should do nicely.” 

One deft lift of his arms and a quick tug to pull his crossed hands apart and his captive had been whirled around to face him. He pinned her hands above her head to keep her from struggling further and he leaned in, punch-drunk on the heady rush that came with victory after a fight. Even the burning hatred and promise of pain that blazed in the eyes of his captive couldn’t dull his fantastic mood. 

“It occurs to me that I never got your name, kitten.” 

Oh, if looks could kill. “Your worst nightmare.”

“I highly doubt that.” He murmured, taking the opportunity to appreciate just how much her spirit would help him and his grand designs, if only he could turn it to more productive means. “Kitten will have to do for now, then. Now, let’s make some magic!” 

The nearly manic grin that split his face caused her stomach to drop as if it was suddenly full of lead. Oh HELL no. 

“We’ll start gently. Nothing too rough. Yet.” 

OH HELL NO. 

“I will absolutely rip your dick off and shove it down your throat if you so much as even THINK about “making magic” with me. I don’t care how “gentle” you think you’re going to be, you will lose your hands if you put them on me.”

Mias scoffed and pulled her hands down in front of her. “I didn’t breach the divide between our worlds to waste my time corrupting anyone. I just need you to think of a door. Any door.”

She blinked, all venom evaporating in an instant and was replaced with an equal measure of confusion. “... … a door.”

“Yes! A door!”

Her mouth opened slightly as she tried and failed to comprehend the absolutely insane turn her day had taken. There was no way this was happening. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me … that you threatened me, put on this whole creeper show, chased me through a cathedral, got your ass handed to you, pinned me against the wall, threatened me with rape… and you’re asking me to think of a door?” 

His expression brightened and he grinned even wider. “Precisely!”

“You do realize that you honestly could have just added that in like… oh I don’t know… at the beginning? When I thought you were an actor and not a murderer and a rapist? Like… why not just make that part of the act while my guard was down? “Hello, my name is Mias! I am an old-timey wizard and I need your help with a magic trick, if you have just a few moments to spare! To begin my trick, picture a door in your mind!” You really think that NOW, when I’m 100% convinced that I will have to fight you for my life and freedom within the hour, is REALLY THE TIME to be playing these kinds of games!? No, I’m not going to think of a bloody door, you raving lunatic. I’m going to kick and claw and bite and do whatever the hell I have to in order to get away because you have done a VERY fine job of convincing me that you have every intention of probably killing me or worse!” 

His expression intensified and he forced her hands back against the stonework once more. “If you want the chance for all of this to go away, to return to your life and your adventure, you must listen to me and do as I say. I will keep my word. But you have to listen to me. This is no game. This is, perhaps, one of the most important things you will ever do.” 

Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously and they regarded each other silently for a long moment. “... any door?” 

Mias’s mischievous grin returned, though it was strained with thinning patience. “Any door.” 

They repeated the suspicious pause, but moments later there was a burst of golden light in the floor directly beneath Mias and he leapt sideways before taking a better look at what Kitten had made. 

“Ho! A trap door then! Very clever! There is even a lever that can be pulled to release it!” He leaned down to tap the floor and found it made out of wood though it was disguised as stone. “Excellent detail work. An unconventional door but a door nonetheless. Well done! Do you see how easy this is when you listen to me?”

Kitten, on the other hand, was staring at the floor with bugged-out eyes and a look of shock. That was the door she’d just been thinking of. And now it was here. That couldn’t happen. That Shouldn’t happen. The only way that was possible was through …. 

She looked up at Mias with that same shocked expression and blinked at him. Not even the return of his most haughty and smug smile could shake her just yet. “Magic isn’t real.”

“Perhaps not in your world. But in mine, magic is very real.”

“If magic isn’t real in my world then there shouldn’t be any magic here for you to command. Your magic should stop working while you’re here.” 

“Curious, isn’t it? Perhaps your world has more magic than you have been led to believe.” She blinked rapidly at him again and then directed her attention back to the floor, slowly crouching down with her hand extended to touch the trap door. Wood. She pushed on it and felt it shift slightly beneath her palm. Mias, of course, still held fast to her one wrist but permitted her a moment of exploration. 

“I can make much more than doors, kitten.” 

She looked up at him with wonder and awe, then back down at the door before standing and facing him. “The wizard that needs help. That’s you? Oh my… oh boy. Ok. What? Magic is a real thing.” She slapped her free palm to her forehead and started chuckling to herself. “Talk about a paradigm shift. Ok. Wow. Just give me a second, I have to process this.” 

She eyed the floor suspiciously and tapped it with her toe, then something else clicked and she perked up, looking around at the dark cathedral. “Oh… oh. The dark. The dark was you too. Ok. That… actually makes… some tiny bit of sense. Ok. Alright. Wow. Ok I’m good now. Magic is a thing, then.” 

She was most definitely not good, she really wanted to burst out into hysterical, giddy laughter but a certain black-robed wizard had her by the wrist and her self-preservation instincts were still winning out over her other bubbling emotions. Mias simply watched all of this with amusement, finding it almost funny that all that fire and fight could be put out so quickly with a little magic trick. She was practically putty in his hands now. 

“Magic is, indeed, very real. And I have but one more trick that I have need of your assistance for. Now, this one’s a bit more challenging, so best keep up your listening streak.” 

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously again but she didn’t tug at his hands or move away from him. This much he could work with. “Ha ha, very funny. You know, this would have been SO much the better to friggin START with earlier.” 

“Perhaps, but I have not the time to explain to you the intricacies of my grand design. I need you to close your eyes now, and keep them closed.” 

Kitten grumbled and kneaded her forehead. “Yeah, see? That would have been a less challenging request before I was under the impression that I was being chased and, at the moment, held hostage by a homicidal maniac with a cruel sense of humor and entitlement. Close my eyes. How comfortable would you feel about closing your eyes “and keeping them closed” if I had a knife to your throat? Like, would that REALLY seem like a wise decision to you? Because it feels like a really stupid, naieve, overly-trusting thing to do that will probably result in me dying now that I better understand the power imbalance here.” 

Mias grinned wider and winked at her, only causing her frown to deepen. “Imbalance of power indeed. You are terribly outmatched.”

“Says the wizard who got his ass handed to him on a silver platter.”

“However,” Mias continued, lowering an unapproving glare down at his captive, “contrary to what misgivings you may have, what I ask is for your own benefit. I am trying to make this less traumatic for you.”

No sooner had he said those words than his hands seemed to catch fire, his captive swearing and knocking his hand loose with a practiced twist. Suddenly free, she leapt away with Mias lunging after her. She danced just out of his grasp but couldn’t make any more than one step back at a time in order to keep twisting and jerking just out from under his fingertips. 

“Will you- stop that! Desist!”

“Stop- ah! Trying- to freaking- set me- on fire! **You** desist! Aye!”

“It’s not fire!” 

“I’m not an idiot! Your hands are on fire! Close your eyes my ass, you were going to set me on fire!” 

He finally snatched up her hand and she retaliated by kicking his leg out from under him, sending him sprawling and her running… until she realized she was too light, too unburdened… and Mr. Fire Hands was between her and her backpack. Mias twisted with a snarl to right himself, only to pause when he saw her hesitating. He watched her eyes flick back and forth between him and something behind him. Stupid girl. He grinned and jumped to his feet, scuttling backwards to the one piece of leverage he had at the moment. At that she dashed forward to try to close the distance between them. 

“No, no, no, No, No, NO, NO! Stop!”

He twirled around and knelt behind the backpack, his hands hovering mere inches away from the heavy pack. Kitten pulled up short, her hands clutching her chest in a wide-eyes gasp. 

“No, please, that’s all I have!” 

“So I was right, then. All your worldly possessions, all in one sack. You are even more alone in the world than most. I tire of this game, so you will listen to me now.” 

He waited a moment to see if she really was listening, feeling a little silly for holding his definitely-not-on-fire hands over her backpack. It was a completely empty threat, this spell would not affect inanimate objects in the same way and it would a person. But if she insisted on believing he held fire, then he would use that until he had gained her compliance. 

“I am going out of my way to make this less traumatic than it has to be. I am trying to be kind. But you trying my patience is making me consider not sparing your feelings. It really is in your best interest to do as I say. I will say it again, this is not fire. Look.” 

He placed his hand on the backpack and she sucked in an audible breath, neither of them moving while the red light crackled harmlessly on his hand and the backpack remained unchanged. After he raised his eyebrows at her in a very “I told you so” way, she cautiously crept forward to investigate further. 

“... ok… not fire then. In my defense, that looks very much like fire even now but I can see it doesn’t behave the same way. So… if it’s not fire, what kind of spell are you casting?” 

“One that will allow us both to get what we want. You want to be on your way, to continue your adventure, and I need your help.” Mias stood and offered her the pack, noting the way she still leaned away from him and his outstretched hand but did not run or fight this time. “Please.”

Her gaze shifted from his still-not-on-fire hands up to his face and still hesitated a moment longer before ever-so-slowly pulling one hand away from her chest. She took the pack from him and slung it onto her back, settling it into place like a comfort blanket and then looked back at his outstretched hand. With some hesitation and a cautious wince, she finally eased one hand forward until it touched his. He took her hand and gave it a small squeeze, then held out his other hand. She gave him her second hand and looked back into his eyes. He gave her hands another small squeeze as the red crackling light encased her whole body. One last moment of hesitation, and then she squeezed her eyes shut. 

Mias raised her hands in the air, breathed in slowly, and then uttered the command phrase. “Dælan.”

Kitten’s stomach lurched and for a moment it felt like she was ripped in half. But then she stumbled and fell onto the stone floor and groaned, still very much alive. Except she wasn’t the only one to groan. There was another groan that came from behind her. “Ugh. That was not fun.” 

Her eyes popped open just as Mias cautioned her to keep them closed. That was definitely her voice. “What the crap.”

“No! I said keep them closed!” She looked at Mias, who was doing his best to look very intimidating. Except he wasn’t looking at her. He was looking behind her.

”You! No! Keep them closed! You!” He jabbed an accusatory finger her way. “I said closed! Now!” 

Ok. Something was up. So she mostly closed her eyes, keeping them cracked just enough to see the smallest sliver of what was happening. “Mias, what’s going on?”

“Just keep them closed! I mean it!”

Somewhere to her left she heard her own voice say, “oh crap…”

“CLOSED damnit!”

Something knocked around in her brain for a second before it spat out what he had said earlier. He needed help. And she wanted to keep going on her adventure. And he had a way of satisfying both. And now her own voice was coming from directly behind her. 

“Oh... crap is right.”

Mias growled and cursed. “Will you stop that?”

“You split me into two people. I’m both here and over there. That’s how you’re going to get your way and also let me get my way. One of us stays, one of us goes.” 

There was a sharp breath to her left and Kitten sat up, keeping her eyes closed but still clearly focused entirely on the being before her. She heard her other self say “oh… ok… you know what? That makes a lot of sense actually. Because magic, right?”

“Right.” Oh this was too weird. “Ok, I have to know. Say something only I would get.”

Mias sighed and leaned against the wall. “It does not work in that way. Your double does not retain the memories that you have. Understandings, yes. Or else she would not be able to walk and speak as you do. But she does not know your inner thoughts. She is who you are, the core of your person. Your mirror, not you yourself entirely.” 

“Oh… ok.” Kitten paused and looked down. “That’s probably for the better. I wouldn’t want my memories either.” 

“Aww, are you ok? You sound sad.” 

Kitten winced and sighed, agony painting itself all over her face. But she kept her eyes closed and huffed a chuckle. For herself. The girl she used to be. “Aw, I’m alright. Just old, you know? You get a whole fresh start at life! Isn’t that exciting!?” 

“Yeah…” Kitten heard herself say, then with more enthusiasm and gusto, “Yeah! It’s really exciting! But… um… am I going to do it alone?”

“... no. Absolutely not. I’ll help you. I’ll protect you. Don’t worry about the wizard, I will be here for you every step of the way.”

“... wizard?”

“Brilliant. Just brilliant. Now you’ve ruined everything. No, no, it’s fine. Just go and have a lovely chat with yourself. Enjoy the time you have. You obviously seem to know what’s best for you so much better than I, we’ll do it your way then. Hmph. What a waste of a good split.”

“What are you talking about?” Both Kittens said at the same time. 

“This is the coolest thing ever!”

“Sure, sure. It’s extraordinary magic. But you are clearly ignorant of the lore of creating a doppelgänger. Waste of my time. Nothing to be done about it now.” He slumped to the floor, she could hear him land on the stonework. “Now we sit here and wait.”

“Wait for what?” 

“There cannot be two of you consciously aware of each other. It’s too much of a shock to cope with for new life. It’s too precious and fragile. We wait for one of you to die.”

Both Kittens snorted at him before the original Kitten responded. “Yeah, listen buttercup. I am a lot of things, but fragile is not one of them. It’s going to take a lot more than ME to kill me off.”

The other kitten hummed her agreement. “Keeping the eyes closed is a good idea though. I mean, everyone talks to themselves in their mind all the time. So hearing myself… while still SUPER weird, is not like… some deadly shock!”

“Definitely.” Kitten chuckled, scooting a little closer to the sound as she let herself be coerced into excitement by her other self. “I mean, once you have established the fact that magic is real, then anything is possible!”

“Well yeah! Anything could happen! Two of me? Magic, duh. Next.”

“Oh… oh man…. we could do so many things.”

“GUILT FREE NAP DAY!”

“I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING! We could take turns going to work!”

“We could help each other out with chores!”

“We could! Why not just… tell everyone we’re twins? Estranged twins who finally made up?”

“Wait,” Mias cut in, both women turning their faces blindly towards his direction, “you’re… not shocked by this?”

“Oh absolutely.”

“Completely.”

“But like I said before, it’s going to take a lot more than ME to kill me. I, as a human being, am impervious to dying from emotional shock. Lucky for you, I have survived … so many things so much worse than this. It’s the trauma. You get to a point where you can just… choose to be or not be. Bottle the rest up for later. So in this moment, when it’s really not a great time to be having a meltdown, I choose to not be shocked. I choose to be excited by the possibilities. I choose not to dwell too long on the existential crisis literally at hand and I choose to see this as an opportunity.”

“But still, probably keeping our eyes closed is helping with the process of processing all this. So… yeah. No. I think we’re good here, honestly. As good as we’re going to be.”

“Ha!” Mias slapped his thigh and there was a rustling of fabric as he rose to his feet. “Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything. You are full of surprises! Now then. You,” he said, tapping Kitten’s head, “you are free to go. Continue your adventure! See the kingdoms of the world!” 

Kitten didn’t move just yet though. The wizard made two of her so he could keep one. Right? She hated this. Her other self absolutely would not survive. There was no way. There was a reason she wasn’t that girl anymore. Life had tried to chew her up and she had forced life to spit her back out again. This man was a murderer. A kidnapper. He had just made a copy of her and now he was going to use her for his own evil purposes and she had specifically changed into the woman she was now as a way to survive the evil purposes of an apathetic world.

“I can’t let you do that.” 

Mias smirked down at her as he helped the new copy to her feet. He had what he wanted. She had what she wanted. What was there to argue against? “You already have.”

“Give me my double, wizard. She doesn’t deserve this. She won’t… she… I can’t let you hurt her!” 

“Hurt her! Why, Kitten, you misjudge my character!” He quietly stepped away from Kitten and pulled the double with him towards the magic door. “This is my prized canary. The triumph of a lifetime of work. Why would I harm one hair on her pretty head after all I’ve done to fetch her?” 

He pulled the ticket to his freedom close to his chest and leapt onto the platform for the trap door. “Thank you for your contributions! Your doppelgänger will be in the very finest of hands! Enjoy your adventure!” 

Kitten leapt to her feet and finally wrenched her eyes open just in time to see Mias and her double disappear into the black abyss below. Her double screamed (she always had hated heights) and then the door vanished from sight, light slowly flooding back into the cathedral once the dark wizard’s presence was truly gone. 

Slowly, people started to trickle into the cathedral again. And Kitten stared down at the floor, a hole in her heart and stomach that felt as deep and as wide as the void she had just sentenced her old self to. The sound of her own scream, the way it had echoed through the cathedral, played on repeat behind empty eyes for nearly half an hour before eventually she pulled in a deep breath. She leaned down and picked up the abandoned backpack, the only evidence she had that her experience from just now was real. She held it close, squeezing it tightly in leu of the woman she had just condemned to death.

And then, when the numbness had finally set in, she slowly turned and walked out of the cathedral; a second backpack, a second urn, in her hands.


	2. The BoughGate Tree

“Now then,” Mias started with a grin down at his captive as they floated weightlessly through the black void he had plunged them into, “I do believe introductions are in order! Please, what is your name?”

The frightened little mouse that was clinging to Mias’ shirt, cloak, and curled into a tight ball whimpered at him. This ticket to freedom was presently looking quite pathetic, and Mias could only chuckle. This might just be easier than he thought!

“Come now, kitten. Look up at me.” Mias snickered and rotated his torso to bring her around to his front. “We’re not falling, if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

“But we fell through the floor! I really hate heights.” 

“I assure you we are not falling.”

“Tell that to my stomach!”

“Ah, yes, the lurch of more powerful magic. You get used to it.”

Kitten whimpered again and gathered another handful of cloak to cling to, burying her face in the folds. The sound was, honestly, quite pathetic and unbearable. Especially for one who had moments ago fought so fiercely. So Mias tried again, pulling her in to him so he could encourage her to pull her face from out of his traveling cloak. 

“Please, tell me your name, little one.”

There was a muffled sound from his cloak and he pulled her closer to his ear. “Again? I am afraid my traveling cloak has no ears.”

The little lady shifted her mouth just enough to finally be heard. “Katrina.” 

Mias cocked a lopsided grin. So much more compliant than her original. This was why he liked doppelgängers. The originals always came burdened with suspicion and prejudice. But the fresh ones, the new lives, the ones that survived those first few moments, those ones were so much easier to mold. To bend. 

To break.

“Katrina. I am Mias. Katrina, Look. Look at how extraordinary this all is! You’ll be amazed at what waits for us when we land too!” 

He succeeded only in getting her to peek, one point of grey-blue in a void of inky darkness. She tried saying something to him but with her face muffled by the thick layers of the cloak it was impossible to hear what she said. And Mias was not shy about telling her as much. She glared at him and slowly moved the cloak to the side of her face, staring up at the only other source of color in the dark. 

“You’re not doing anything to make sure we don’t crash land! What if we die when we reach the ground?”

Mias grinned and winked at her. “My last landing was none too gentle and yet I am here. Fear not, no harm will befall you when we reach the Bough Gate.”

She whimpered again and tugged a little more on his cloak. “I don’t like heights. I don’t like falling. Can I hold you until we get there, please?” 

“More-so than you already are?” Mias teased, completely unprepared for the lithe, little arms of his possession to snatch him up and for the little mouse to bury her face into his chest. He looked around awkwardly, not exactly sure of what to do, before putting one arm around her shoulders and patting her head. 

“There, there. All will be well.” 

She cuddled into him, shaking like a leaf, and he rested his hand on her head in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. They stayed like that for a few moments more and then something brown and solid passed them by. Mias recognized it immediately. 

“Ho! A branch! Many branches! We are here!” She peeked and then immediately crushed her face into his chest again. This time however, as Mias looked down at the tree that was rising up to meet them, he cuddled her protectively against his chest. “Brace yourself. Our landing has arrived.” 

Contrary to his prior experience, however, the force that had pushed and pulled him through this bridge gently set the two of them down on the wooden platform of the Bough Gate, Katrina’s shivering and shaking slowly quieting once her feet were on solid ground. 

“Oh…” Mias observed, looking around once again, “I was expecting something far more dramatic.” 

Katrina let go of him slowly, easing back onto her feet at the same rate that Mias let her down from his protective grip. She looked around at the truly massive tree, a grin slowly growing on her face. “Wow… look at this! This is amazing! It’s enormous!”

“I did tell you.” Mias let her go fully as she reached for the trunk of the tree, putting her hands on it and looking up with such vulnerable, child-like wonder that he almost regretted bringing her here. Maybe the other one would have been better. This one was going to be so very fragile and tender. She really had no idea of what was in store for her. And yet… this openness would make for an easier prize to hold and keep. 

“Katrina,” he coaxed, taking her hand and bringing it to him, drawing her starry-eyed gaze with it. “This new world I have brought you to is a dangerous place. You must listen to me and do as I say if you want to live long enough to see more. I am very keen on showing you the wonders of my world, but you must trust me and you must follow my lead. Do you understand?” 

She nodded eagerly and Mias had to restrain the urge to coo at her. After all, it wouldn’t be prudent to start growing fond of those big doe eyes. “Mias, that other woman you left behind said you were a wizard. Is that true? Can you do magic?” 

He puffed up proudly. “I can. And I have no doubt you’ll be able to see it very soon. But we must come away from this place. It is not safe to linger…” 

It was at that moment that he noticed the boy. How in the world did a child get HERE of all places? How was that possible? “You there! How do you trespass here?” 

The boy only glared at him with a hatred that filled those bright, leaf-green eyes… leaf green like another leaf-green fellow… Arden… Ledbury!! “Oh you little- shit!” 

Mias whipped around just in time to see the Guard Dog of his imprisonments lean forward from within the boughs of the great tree. Katrina, on the other hand, had seen no such thing. “Excuse me, please do not swear in the presence of children. Can’t you see he’s…”

“Kat… run.” Ledbury leered down at Mias and his captive, razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “Run. RUN!” 

Mias grabbed her hand and they took off down the stairs, Katrina’s long legs easily keeping pace with Mias. “What is that!?” 

Mias had no answer except to run faster. He knew what Ledbury was capable of. He didn’t want to lose his new acquisition so soon to that ghoul. They dashed, both of them making good headway down the stairs. But Ledbury was faster. His claws allowed him the advantage on this terrain. So Mias stopped, turned, placed his hands on the tree’s trunk with a muttered incantation, and flung new growth in front of Ledbury’s path. 

Katrina could only gasp in amazement. Something that, under different circumstances, would have greatly stroked Mias’ ego. But in this moment he could only growl and push her down the stairs. Stopping to admire the view would land both of them in Ledbury’s stomach. “Don’t tarry!” 

“That was AMAZING! How did you do that!” 

Ok… maybe he could stand a little ego stroking. “I am a master magician! But there will be time to explain everything when we are safe. Whatever happens,” he pulled up short near the edge of the platform and pointed to a small, ornate door set into equally ornate stonework, “you aim for that door down there. He can’t get through it!” 

Katrina tugged on his hand and urged him to keep running. “But you’re coming with me, right!? You’re not leaving me?” 

Mias winked at her as they dashed side by side. “I’ll be right behind you. I may just have to pull a few more spells out of my hat to take care of our friend back there. Fear not.”

There was a crash from above and the two of them looked up just in time to see Ledbury dropping down on them from above. Mias, in a quick flash of movement, snatched up his Key and leapt to the side, taking the brunt of the hit while keeping her unscathed. He was NOT going to let that oaf crush his proof that he’d traveled to the realm above! Ledbury, however, seemed unimpressed by the quick reaction and was instantly on them again. 

Mias, equally undeterred, grabbed a handful of the tree beneath him and tossed it up in Ledbury’s face with another quick command word. The tree sprung to life, detaining the ghoul just enough to keep him from advancing any further. But the old, dead wood immediately began creaking under the strain and Mias pushed back at Ledbury with his feet from his prone position. Katrina was already on her feet but instead of running, she snatched Mias up by the armpits and hauled him away with a shout at Ledbury. 

“EXCUSE ME! It is not nice to eat people! Please don’t do that!” 

Mias growled in frustration and snatched up her hand, bolting with her further down the tree. They both seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time, because right as Mias was assessing the situation, his captive started speaking his thoughts out loud. 

“Mias, this isn’t working! He’s too fast! We’ll never make it to the bottom before him if we keep literally running in circles!” 

“Indeed. I have been inspired to take a short cut!” 

Mias stamped on the floorboards to test them, just as Katrina let herself down over the edge, rolling and hanging on by her fingertips until she could make sure of her landing. “Good idea! Hurry!” 

Mias looked after her fingertips for a second before shrugging and following her lead as she scrambled down the side of the tree. Branch by branch she eased down until there was just the final platform. She looked down at the base of the tree hesitantly before Mias took the initiative and snatched her up by the waist and jumped. She squealed and clutched onto him tightly as they rolled to the ground. Katrina, still clutching tightly to Mias, was subsequently scooped up in his arms as he ran the final distance to the door. Ledbury, hot on his heels after their descent, jumped after him with a powerful, clawed hand and swiped Mias’ back.

Suddenly struck, Mias tripped and fell, sending Katrina tumbling to the ground. She gasped and scrambled to her feet, grabbing Mias’ hands and hauling him away while the monster skidded to a stop and stuck his wicked claws into his mouth. “Yes! More! MORE!” 

Katrina pulled with all her might, dragging him quickly away while Ledbury savored the taste of Mias’ blood. She got most of him through the door before Ledbury was on them again, his claws digging into Mias’s boot. Kat pulled and pulled while Ledbury laughed and tugged them both backwards towards the door. She gave one last hard yank and Mias’ boot slipped free, throwing both of them fully into the room that Ledbury couldn’t enter. 

They lay in a collapsed heap on the floor, Mias groaning pitifully and Katrina panting heavily. Ledbury pressed at the door’s entrance, trying to reach even one delicious toe but found even that scant few inches too far to cross. 

“Bah! Why would you save him, blightful swine that he is?” 

Katrina’s head popped up and she heaved herself onto her feet with a heavy grunt. “You, sir, are not very nice! Eating people is bad! And calling people names is bad! Don’t do that!” 

She rushed to Mias’ side, gingerly petting his hair to get his attention. “Mias? Mias? What do I do? Tell me how I can help!” 

Ledbury settled down on his haunches to watch from outside. “You can help by leaving him to me.” 

Katrina scrunched her face at him and shook her finger, like she was scolding a misbehaving housecat. “Stop trying to eat my guide! He’s taking me on an adventure and he needs my help! I know I may not know very much, I was just made today, but I know that what you are doing is very bad! So stop it!” 

Ledbury gasped and leaned forward. “Today!? Did he split you!? Is the other girl still alive!?” 

Katrina nodded. “She didn’t want me to go with him. She said he would hurt me but… he’s only protected me this whole time. I trust him. He’s a good person.” 

“He is not,” Ledbury responded with a low growl. “You have no idea. You don’t know what crimes he is being punished for. Has he told you, yet? That he is a prisoner? That his own family locked him away for his frailty and his ineptitude as a Dormaeus? That’s why he needs your help. He is an exiled, untrained, bungling wretch who has to touch what he needs enchanted.”

Katrina gasped and looked down at the bloody man who had thus far been so careful with her. Locked away by his own family? Just for being “frail” and “inept” at whatever kind of business a Dormaeus was? How terrible. How cruel. And yet here he was, clearly not sharing in their cruelty. He’d shielded her with his own body. “No… he didn’t tell me… but that’s awful! And you were trying to eat us for that!”

Ledbury scoffed, “I beg your pardon! I was trying to eat Him!” 

“And that’s bad!” Katrina sagged with a heavy sigh and knelt down by Mias again. “Mias?”

“Kat…”

“Mias, you poor dear, tell me what to do.” 

He tried reaching around with his own hand to get at the gashes on his back but Katrina took his hand and pushed it away. “No, no, don’t. You’re opening them up more! Don’t do that. I’m here to help! Tell me what you need!”

He took her hand and clenched it in his fist. “You need to close the wounds.”

She looked at his back with huge eyes but nodded slowly anyways. “O-ok. I don’t have any thread. Or a needle. Where do I find those things?”

Mias shook his head. “With magic. You’ll be a conduit.”

She gasped at him and then looked more carefully at his back. “Oh geez. Ok. How?”

“Use two fingers on either side. Slide them down until it’s fully closed.” 

She nodded again, changing her position. The small boy stomped over to watch with his arms folded and his eyes full of fury. She ignored him, so long as he wasn’t trying to get in the way. “Ok, I’m ready.” 

Mias’ hand glowed white and she could feel something flow through her hand, up her arm, up her neck, and fill her mind. She pushed it down her other arm and it raced to meet her fingertips, where she followed Mias’ instructions and sealed the wounds closed one by one. Once they were sealed the magic stopped and Mias sagged, Katrina gently petting his hair and running her fingernails over his scalp while he rested. 

“It’s ok now, your back is all better.” 

He simply lay there and breathed for a few moments before finally he let out a groan and he pushed himself up onto his knees. He cleansed the ground and himself of blood using some more of his magic and then stood to face Arden and Ledbury. But Katrina, sensing a fight, got in between and simply hugged Mias. She didn’t know a lot about diffusing tension but she did know she had to try. 

“Mias, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through but I’m here to help. You’re not frail. You were so brave today. You were amazing.” She looked up from her hug and tried her best to communicate with her earnest expression that she meant every word. Even if he looked too shocked to have heard most of it. Gently, she pulled him further into the room. 

“Come on, your shirt’s all torn up and you’ve had a hard night. Let’s go.” 

Ledbury snarled and growled, then chuckled darkly at Mias as he let himself be pulled. “Yes, yes. Let your little nursemaid coddle you like the swaddling babe you are.”

Kat squeezed his arm and moved her head to catch his eye, a warm smile spreading over her whole face in contrast to his deep scowl. “Hey. Hey. He’s just trying to get under your skin. It doesn’t matter what he thinks. All that matters is that YOU know you were amazing. You’re alive! I’M alive! AND I’m ALIVE! You made that happen all by yourself! You did awesome.” 

Mias, a little bit awestruck, had to shake himself before he could respond. When was the last honest compliment someone had given him without being forced or coerced or even just prompted into giving it to him? One that was just… given? Honestly, earnestly, and without any hidden agendas?

He huffed one small, embarrassed laugh and he took Katrina by the shoulders, leading her into the castle. How was it possible for him to strike gold in this, his greatest hour of need for even just the smallest sliver of good luck? All his years of slaving away in the maddening chase for results, all on his own, was finally going to come to an end. 

“Katrina… I think you and I will get along just fine.”


End file.
